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More die in Aust floods than bushfires

Floods kill more people than bushfires in Australia, with heat waves the only deadlier natural disaster in the past 115 years.

Of the 1859 people killed in floods between 1900 and 2015, most were male, aged under 29, and lost their lives within 20km of their home, research carried out by Risk Frontiers for the Bushfire and Natural Hazard CRC shows.

The biggest cause of death for both men and women related to floods was going into floodwaters, especially in vehicles, Risk Frontiers senior research fellow Dr Katharine Haynes said.

"For most people they are trying to get home," she said.

Taking roads for granted or a simple lack of knowledge about the flood risk had played a part in deaths but men were more likely to die while driving through floods.

"We are seeing a big shift in recent decades to people driving through floodwaters and that's overwhelmingly men ... men are much greater risk takers than women are," Dr Haynes said.

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"Every time we get a downpour and flash flooding happens, our volunteers are called out to rescue someone," NSW SES media spokeswoman Becky Gollings said.

"At the time they don't see it as a risk ... they are still trying to get around from A to B.

"But it's safer to take the long way home than to risk your life going into that flooded road and risking also the lives of our volunteers who have to come out and save you."

The research suggested several key ways to curb the death toll from floods - such as better awareness of flood prone areas, increasing infrastructure around flood zones, or fining people who recklessly enter floodwaters.

Most people who tried to enter floodwaters during the day did so on foot or tried to swim, while at night most people tried to drive, Dr Haynes said.

"On the one hand you can sort of say: 'Oh, why are these people entering floodwaters? You know it is really dangerous and sort of silly,' but actually I think people, a number people, are doing it and they don't even realise," Dr Haynes said.